Look for the Helpers, a podcast by Engage Therapy

Title: Why Women's Mental Health Is Different — with Dr. Brittany Booth, Reproductive PsychiatristSummary: Dr. Brittany Booth is a reproductive psychiatrist in Westlake Village who works at the intersection of hormones and mental health — PMDD, pregnancy and postpartum, menopause — and at UCLA's Maternal Mental Health Program. With Adelina Brisbois, LMFT, she makes a quietly radical case: so much of what gets women labeled "too much" or "just hormonal" is a normal human response to carrying too much with too little support. They name postpartum rage, grieve the lost "village," and bust the well-meaning myths about psychiatric medication in pregnancy — why stopping a medication that's working can carry more risk than staying on it.Key topics:• Reproductive psychiatry & women's mental health• Postpartum rage and de-pathologizing women's emotions• PMDD, perinatal & menopause hormone transitions• Postpartum isolation & rebuilding the village• Social media & new motherhood• Attachment, anxiety & infant sleep• Psychiatric medication in pregnancy/breastfeeding — myths vs. evidenceGuest: Dr. Brittany Booth, MD — reproductive psychiatrist, Westlake Village; UCLA Maternal Mental Health Program website · @brittanyboothmdResources mentioned: UCLA Maternal Mental Health Program (perinatal IOP, Westwood) · PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) · neonatal adaptation syndrome · TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) · SSRIs · Engage Therapy's Mindful Beginnings class for new & expecting parents.Support: If you're struggling, you're not alone. Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) · National Maternal Mental Health Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), 24/7 · Postpartum Support International 1-800-944-4773.Note: This episode is education and support, not medical advice. Decisions about medication should be made with a qualified clinician.Links: engagetherapy.com · @engagetherapy · (805) 497-0605

Title: Empathy Is a Human Skill — Breaking the Silence on Mental Health, with Harsha DodaniSummary: Harsha Dodani has spent years teaching empathy — first in schools, now in boardrooms as the Chief Heart Officer of EmpathifyU. In one of the first times she's shared her family's story out loud, she and her friend Adelina Brisbois, LMFT get honest about the cultural silence around mental health, deciding “the stigma stops with me,” and why “you have to be selfish to be selfless.” They dig into empathy as a human skill, neurodiversity and belonging, breaking generational patterns, and why a rising tide raises all ships.Key topics:• Empathy as a human skill (not a soft skill)• Breaking cultural & generational mental-health stigma• Therapy, shame, and “you don't know what you don't know”• Self-care and boundaries (“selfish to be selfless”)• Neurodiversity, belonging & workplace culture• Raising kids who can speak up; rupture & repair• Community — a rising tide raises all shipsGuest: Harsha Dodani — Chief Heart Officer & co-founder, EmpathifyUResources mentioned: EmpathifyU · My Name, My Story / Changemaker Day · Childhood Matters · Violet Oaklander (child-therapy training) · Gary Vee's “Chief Heart Officer” · If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 24/7.Links: engagetherapy.com · @engagetherapy · (805) 497-0605

Janet Bayramyan, LCSW — a trauma therapist and owner of Road2Wellness Counseling in Encino — joined our new Mindful Beginnings program as a parent, alongside her one-year-old son.Mindful Beginnings is for parents and their little ones (walking age through 5), built on the Reflective Parenting curriculum and grounded in attachment theory. It's not a typical parenting class. Instead of only teaching skills to use on your child, it asks how you were parented — and how that shapes the parent you're becoming.Janet talks with Dr. Peggy Matson, LMFT (our Director of Parent Services) and Adelina Brisbois, LMFT about what shifted for her: making room for free play, validating a child's frustration instead of fixing it, the "little-t" traumas that surface when you have a baby, and the quiet power of staying regulated when your child falls apart. They also get into why it's never too late to repair a relationship, and the work Janet does with adults, EMDR, and IFS at Road2Wellness.Chapters00:00 A therapist on the other side of the room00:41 Welcome to Look for the Helpers01:03 Part 1 — With Dr. Peggy Matson: "I thought I knew this"04:36 Her son, slow-to-warm — and the curriculum06:25 Taking it home: free play & validating frustration09:55 Boundaries — with your child, and with your own parents12:13 Part 2 — With Adelina: two moms, reflecting14:50 What "mommy & me" misses: the mom's experience18:00 Little-t trauma and learning to slow down22:35 Prevention: support parents now, help kids later24:35 "It felt like magic" — triggers, anger & repair28:25 Empathy over judgment — and why it's never too late31:55 New at Engage: grandparent & dad/partner support34:11 How to explain Mindful Beginnings (hint: it's about you)37:35 Real moments: the car seat & the bedtime narration43:30 The oxygen-mask reframe — care for the parent first47:15 Janet's work: trauma, EMDR, IFS at Road2Wellness54:29 Why Conejo Valley clinicians lift each other upAbout Engage TherapyEngage Therapy is a clinician-owned, clinician-led practice supporting youth and families across the Conejo Valley — Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and nearby. Learn more about Mindful Beginnings and our programs at engagetherapy.com · (805) 497-0605 · @engagetherapy.Guest: Janet Bayramyan, LCSW — Road2Wellness Counseling, Encino · road2wellness.co · IG @therapy_with_janetb